Happ breaks Musial's long-standing record

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- Ian Happ did not realize he was chasing down a record that had stood for seven decades. When the Cubs outfielder drew a bases-loaded walk in the third inning on Saturday, he surpassed Hall of Famer Stan Musial for the longest on-base streak in modern history against the Pirates.

“Stan Musial? Really?” said Happ, who then offered a wry grin. “Got him.”

Happ extended this very specific streak to 56 games with a walk and single in a 10-1 win on Sunday, moving further beyond Stan The Man’s 54-game run that concluded in 1953. It’s a record that is more fun fact than headline-grabbing feat -- Happ being a Pittsburgh native adds another entertaining layer -- but it does offer a glimpse into his value in the heart of the Cubs’ order.

Even as Happ’s season statistics have taken on a different shape than prior years, Cubs manager David Ross has stuck by the left fielder as Chicago’s No. 3 hitter. Ross loves having a switch-hitter in that slot and feels Happ’s tenure and standing with the Cubs warrants the steady trust. There is also the consistency and on-base ability.

“He's as consistent of an at-bat as I think we have on our team,” Ross said. “And I mean that in a fact of, like, when he's scuffling, when he's going well, when he's hitting for power, when he's getting on base, you don't see a change in the consistency in the at-bat.”

Ross also just does not want to mess with a good thing, and the Cubs’ offense overall has been on a strong run in the second half.

Chicago headed into Monday leading the Majors in runs scored (252) while posting a 27-14 record since the All-Star break, climbing back into the playoff picture in the process. The Cubs’ collective OPS of .808 in the second half ranked fifth in the Majors and the .270/.341/.467 team slash line was one of the best in baseball.

“Why would I mess with that?” Ross said.

While Happ has batted .229/.324/.458 through 40 games played in the second half, he has hit in front of red-hot cleanup hitter Cody Bellinger. Since the break, Bellinger had a .352/.385/.623 slash line to go along with a Major League-leading 46 RBIs. Ross likes their combination of skill-sets in the three and four slots.

Overall this season, Happ has produced a .241/.360/.410 line to go along with 15 homers, 25 doubles, 63 RBIs and a career-high (and counting) 83 walks. The outfielder went 5-for-16 in the recent four-game series in Pittsburgh, adding two walks, three extra-base hits and five RBIs to his season totals.

“The last couple days,” Happ said, “I'm just having better at-bats, seeing it better, controlling the strike zone a little bit. It's a good starting point.”